Is anybody here looking forward to Camu Tao's "King of Hearts" album and/or knows anything about the release date? It's actually the only Def Jux album I'm looking forward to and I'd appreciate any info.

Wiki says "On July 9, El-P announced via Twitter that the album, King of Hearts, was finished, and would be released on October 20, 2009." but it's the 21st already and no word of the album on the Def Jux site. Seems like I'm the only one who's actually waiting for it.

I know it's gonna be nuts - not rap. I saw him perform some of the songs and it was like funk/rock/Rick James style. Hard to explain. i would expect it this quarter before the holidays, but I don't know.
He is missed.

I just read this statement from Aesop soon after Mu's passing, and it's a sad heartfelt read -

Said Ian “Aesop Rock” Bavitz: “Summing up my feelings regarding Camu, who he was as a friend, what he did as a musician, and how devastating his death is to me will never be possible. I have never lost a best friend before. These types of emotions have no names. Mu had an infectious magnetism about him that was so far removed from the comfort of any convenient adjective or classification, it makes stomaching this with any hint of grace that much more unrealistic. So much of who I am today is directly related to Camu’s ability to unearth things in me that would have otherwise remained dormant forever. He had an unprecedented influence on me as a human being, and beyond that as an artist. I can only hope that when this current fog eventually lifts, I am strong enough to do justice to the things he has given me.”

:(

Last edited by poopsnack on Wed Oct 21, 2009 7:48 am; edited 1 time in total

Wed Oct 21, 2009 7:41 am

Flossin

Joined: 28 Jul 2009
Posts: 601

poopsnack wrote: I know it's gonna be nuts - not rap. I saw him perform some of the songs and it was like funk/rock/Rick James style. Hard to explain. i would expect it this quarter before the holidays, but I don't know.
He is missed.

Yeah, that actually makes it all the more interesting to me. The newer Camu songs that were released on various compilation albums etc were already a pretty big departure from early Camu stuff and I liked it a lot. I hope there's gonna be lots of stuff like that on the album.

I also read those pieces about Camu from El-P and Aesop when he died. I always liked Camu and think he was (and still is) pretty damn underrated. Both as a rapper and a producer. He did some great music. I really want that album already.

Wed Oct 21, 2009 8:32 am

knowrites

Joined: 05 Apr 2007
Posts: 2060

El-P wrote: The Camu [Tao] record, and we’re just trying to figure out when exactly we’re gonna put it out. I mean initially, I was gonna try and put it out in October, but with the Cage record and with the Def Jux Presents record taking up a lot of our time, I kind of started to feel like we needed more time to set the record up, and it’s such a special record for a lot of reasons to me and to everyone involved, that I’m trying to figure out when to do it. It will either be in November, or in the top of next year. But that will the next bigger ticket release.

Wed Oct 21, 2009 8:44 am

pugg

Joined: 01 Sep 2005
Posts: 270
Location: Vermont

I saw Camu Tao open for Cage a couple years back. He did songs that I assume will be on this record. Blew my mind. I've been waiting for this record since then.

Wed Oct 21, 2009 8:51 am

Flossin

Joined: 28 Jul 2009
Posts: 601

knowrites wrote:

El-P wrote: The Camu [Tao] record, and we’re just trying to figure out when exactly we’re gonna put it out. I mean initially, I was gonna try and put it out in October, but with the Cage record and with the Def Jux Presents record taking up a lot of our time, I kind of started to feel like we needed more time to set the record up, and it’s such a special record for a lot of reasons to me and to everyone involved, that I’m trying to figure out when to do it. It will either be in November, or in the top of next year. But that will the next bigger ticket release.

Thanks a lot! Great to hear that. Can't wait!

Wed Oct 21, 2009 8:53 am

Flossin

Joined: 28 Jul 2009
Posts: 601

pugg wrote: I saw Camu Tao open for Cage a couple years back. He did songs that I assume will be on this record. Blew my mind. I've been waiting for this record since then.

I saw a video on youtube from the '05 Hell's Winter tour of Camu performing the song that was just released on Def Jux Presents 4 ("when you're going down"). Seems like he's been working on that record for quite a while.

Wed Oct 21, 2009 8:59 am

NeuroA champion of Kurtis SP

Joined: 19 Jul 2002
Posts: 7839

its going to be a very interesting album

Wed Oct 21, 2009 12:21 pm

Mr 9999Judge and Jury

Joined: 04 Feb 2006
Posts: 1296

Flossin wrote:

pugg wrote: I saw Camu Tao open for Cage a couple years back. He did songs that I assume will be on this record. Blew my mind. I've been waiting for this record since then.

I saw a video on youtube from the '05 Hell's Winter tour of Camu performing the song that was just released on Def Jux Presents 4 ("when you're going down"). Seems like he's been working on that record for quite a while.

You know he passed away due to cancer in 2008, right? The way you worded this makes it seem like you think he's been working on an album all this time.

RIP Camu

Wed Oct 21, 2009 12:23 pm

Flossin

Joined: 28 Jul 2009
Posts: 601

Mr 9999 wrote:

Flossin wrote:

pugg wrote: I saw Camu Tao open for Cage a couple years back. He did songs that I assume will be on this record. Blew my mind. I've been waiting for this record since then.

I saw a video on youtube from the '05 Hell's Winter tour of Camu performing the song that was just released on Def Jux Presents 4 ("when you're going down"). Seems like he's been working on that record for quite a while.

You know he passed away due to cancer in 2008, right? The way you worded this makes it seem like you think he's been working on an album all this time.

RIP Camu

Yeah, I know. Just a bad way of putting it, I guess.

Wed Oct 21, 2009 1:37 pm

Flossin

Joined: 28 Jul 2009
Posts: 601

More about the album, the release date and some free mp3s to download for those interested: